force, our seniors couldn t get out and go to the doctor. so if they didn t have internet connectivity then they could not take advantage of the technology with telehealth. reporter: what about where high-speed internet is plentiful? burrell wilson, north carolina, near the tech hub of raleigh-durham built its own municipal internet system called greenlight in 2008. you know, used to, number one, did you have suer? number two, did you have county water? and right on down the line. now i think that the broadband internet has jumped in front. reporter: stone and his partner robby brown developing home sites as fast as they can. they sell before they re finished. and the builder will only build them if. the first question he asks, was there highspeed internet as in greenlight. reporter: and it s not just home building. we re standing in the middle of the old herring drug store. reporter: bill oboyle is
bringing lots of higher paying jobs to wilson. jobs that wouldn t be possible without high-speed affordable internet. 51 employees today? correct. how many in a month in three months, in a year? we intend to be about 75 by the end of this year and we want to do about 125 in the next 18 to 24 months. reporter: his consulting business booming so much he s refurbishing a second downtown wilson building that sat vacant for years. what was this? this used to be an auto parts warehouse for many decades. and it will be just as modern and advanced as any other tech space you d see in larger markets. reporter: a huge investment for this small city a decade ago paying off massively today. if you are a small community and you don t have these capacities, then the job market could be moving away from you. reporter: fast, cheap,